Europe - Freising and Munich

Today is sadly our last day in Europe and we truly have enjoyed each and every moment of it! Today we are headed up to Munich to do a little touring before heading to Freising for the night.

A trip to Germany is not complete without visiting the world's famous "Biergartens" - Hofbrauhaus in Munich, and the largest "Biergarten" in the world - Koniglicher Hirschgarten, Munich.

In the summertime a beer garden serves as a living room many people in Munich. There isn't a warm pleasant evening or weekend, that the city's inhabitants would pass up the opportunity to enjoy dining and socializing in a cozy beergarden.

The clinking of large beer mugs, and the tantalizing aromas of roasting rotisserie chicken and pork knuckles wafting through the air even from a distance, conjure up Bavaria's special brand of "live and let live".

The typical bavarian Brotzeit ( lunch, or snack) is of course also a part of the biergarten

tradition. To make the daily "Mass" ( liter mug ) affordable, radishes, bread and meat salad can be brought from home for a picnic lunch. Only cool beverages and beer have to be purchased from the innkeeper. Tradition also holds that the beer mugs that are provided, are washed by the guests themselves.

The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl in Munich was originally built in 1589 by Bavarian Duke Maximilian I as an extension of the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München brewery. The general public was admitted in 1828 by Ludwig I. The building was completely remodeled in 1897 by Max Littmann when the brewery moved to the suburbs. All of the rooms except the historic beer hall ("Schwemme") were destroyed in the World War II bombings. The reopening of the Festival Hall in 1958 marked the end of the post-war restoration work. It is the most visited beer garden by tourists in the world. They even have the

opportunity for a world-wide franchise.

The Hirschgarten Biergarten offers all of the best ingredients to enjoy the old time beer garden traditions; housing over 8000 seats. There are table service areas of the beer garden for those who like to relax, as well as, self-service counters to cater to those "do-it-yourself" type of guests. The selection of tasty foods offers something for everyone; such as typical Bavarian tidbits and lunches, accompanied by a cool mug of freshly- tapped beer or two.

I must say out of all the beer gardens we have visited throughout Austria and Germany, my favourite was the Monastery we visited in Salzburg. The monastary and the monks have been brewing beer there for hundreds of years and serve it up in the traditional clay mugs. The atmosphere is fantastic and the beer was pretty good too.

Munich has many little quaint streets and alleyways in the Altstad. The have a very interesting city hall with its gothic spires and old architecture - Neues Rathaus and its Glockenspiel. During the summer, a curious sight appears every morning in Marienplatz. Hundreds of tourists begin craning their necks skyward to see the Glockenspiel work its magic on the front facade of the Neues Rathaus. As the automated clockwork figures come out to dance, the bells play and the tourists gape. The Glockenspiel is truly a piece of art, it was built of handmade parts long before automation was the buzzword of the day, and it's still entrancing.

As we wandered around the old town we stumbled across their local downtown market - Viktualienmarkt. This large open-air market sells everything from soup to nuts. Just off Marienplatz, here generations of market families continue to hawk their wares from the same

location. There are open-air fruit and vegetable stands similar to those scattered around the city, as well as closed stands and little year-round trinket shops. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon on the way to and from work, locals stop by the market to pick up something from dinner. At midday it's a bit slower and therefore better for browsing. Lots of the stands also sell ready-made food, so for those on a budget, this can be a good place to go to for lunch.

After a little exploring in the Munich's Altestad we decided to head up to Freising to get checked into our hotel. Freising is the closest centre to the airport (much closer than Munich) and has a quaint little town to kick up in. We booked at historical hotel in the old town. With all the construction happening in town it made it a bit difficult to get around and get parked. But once we figured out how to get to our hotel and where to park we were ready to call it a day. A wander around the town and Vietnamese for dinner. A great way to end a perfect holiday.

Hotel Bayerischer Hof Freising: $108.00 Euros, including breakfast for 2

Thanks for following us on our European Adventures. Rick is now headed down to Pheonix to play golf for a week and my next adventure is heading to San Francisco for a birthday trip with my Mom - Heather.
Stayed tuned for more adventures!